An example of short-range wireless communication is near field communication (NFC). NFC has three communication modes, namely, card emulation mode, reader/writer mode, and inter-device communication (peer-to-peer) mode.
The card emulation mode is a communication mode in which a portable terminal is used as a contactless IC card or a contactless IC tag. When a portable terminal is held over a reader/writer, the reader/writer reads card information or tag information stored in the portable terminal.
The reader/writer mode is a communication mode in which a portable terminal is used as a reader/writer. When a portable terminal is held over a contactless IC card or a contactless IC tag, the portable terminal reads information stored in the contactless IC card or the contactless IC tag.
The peer-to-peer mode is a communication mode in which two devices perform two-way communication with each other to exchange data therebetween. When two devices (such as two portable terminals) are held close to each other, the two devices exchange data (of address books, for example) with each other.
For example, Patent Literature 1 listed below discloses an art of using NFC to link an image forming device and a portable terminal with each other.